is a Canberra-based writer and an award-winning political journalist

If federal politics really is a meritocracy, Tony Abbott would not have needed to effectively sack his unique parliamentary secretary, Cory Bernardi.

No, the good senator from South Australia - who is so concerned that legalising same-sex marriage could lead to human-animal coupling that he was compelled to say so in the Senate and on radio - would probably never have been a frontbencher in the first place.

Strategists from the major and minor parties all privately lament that Parliament is padded with dilettantes and ideologues. Strong personal belief is an important compass in public life. But obsession - especially where it overshadows a greater party-political good or ethic - is a distraction.

So now Bernardi has reluctantly departed the frontbench, behind a raft of beastly (pun intended) publicity in both the Australian and British press, for the gentle charms of Oxford and the European Young Conservative Freedom Summit.

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He had apparently been due to give a speech on, I don't know, let's take a guess - why bandits prefer the burqa, how plain packaging can lead to flag-burning, or something.

Anyway, his frontbench spot didn't even get cold before Abbott promoted the NSW senator Arthur Sinodinos and the South Australian MP Jamie Briggs. Well, Bernardi did his boss a favour; Sinodinos and Briggs should have been frontbenchers long ago.

Both are good communicators. Their obsessions are focused on policy, not ideology. Sinodinos is a former chief of staff to John Howard. He understands better than any serving Liberal - including Abbott - the pitfalls of parliamentary politics, the vagaries of election campaigns and the hot-button issues that sway electoral mood.

Being parliamentary secretary to the leader is not a mere stepping stone to more plush frontbench leather. It is not a sinecure; it comes with no extra pay or staff. But when the job is done effectively (and, arguably, it has not been in Bernardi's case) it affords the incumbent significant influence on policy development and strategy.

In his first interview after the promotion, Sinodinos explained his role: ''Part of it is … offering him [Abbott] wise counsel … representing him on occasions. I think being a bit of a lightning rod perhaps for some on the backbench who have concerns and issues they want to raise, not to get in the way of them being able to speak to the leader but to have someone who is readily accessible … and basically try and make sure we get early warning of things, when there's a problem in the Coalition.''

It was a candid prescription on how Abbott - who has been largely disciplined when it comes to securing his personal preoccupations for the sake of political success - can best be helped to manage his party as the pressure to outline a succinct electoral alternative increases. Abbott was the least likely person to emerge as Liberal leader (behind Malcolm Turnbull and Joe Hockey) from the party room meeting that elected him almost three years ago. The party has invested almost unprecedented faith in him to deliver on the politics, which he has done, by effectively rolling one prime minister and publicly undermining his replacement to the point where there are still suggestions the first could be returned.

But the flipside to that has been the persistent Coalition anxiety about Abbott's plan for government - beyond merely taking government. The anxiety has morphed, at times, to anger, especially when Abbott has acted unilaterally.

The best example must be Abbott's decision to push through the party room and shadow cabinet without endorsement an unfunded, paid parental leave scheme (a dubious policy that is to be paid for by a tax on high-end business). He explained his tactic later by saying sometimes it was better to seek forgiveness than permission.

Better or easier? Hmm.

But lately, of course, there's been a shift, indicative rather than tectonic, in the polls.

It's been enough to intensify anxiety in the Coalition, as patience with Abbott diminishes. To Abbott's credit, he is self-aware enough to understand this.

That is why his appointment of Briggs and Sinodinos - who would be regarded as a potential future leader were he in the lower house - was astute.

In his interview, Sinodinos continually brought the message back to the imperative to hold the government to account on spending - and to develop sound alternative policies of its own.